


Who Knew?

by talyag



Series: PuppyShipping One Shots [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: M/M, puppyshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 02:17:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19219570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talyag/pseuds/talyag
Summary: Prequel to "The Climb"How did Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler end up more than friends? Well I guess this is the start of it.





	Who Knew?

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to "The Climb" - completely unnecessary to read! Not beta'd all errors are mine!

It started simple enough, Joey Wheeler took a job at Kaiba Corp as a Quality Assurance Engineer. He tested anything and everything that his team, and Kaiba, threw at him.

While some were confused, even his friends, to him – it made sense. Kaiba always had a way of offering him a new challenge; he loved challenges. It was a perfect way for him to get paid. Kaiba paid well too, he knew that quality was important and invested in it. It made for a well paying and meaningful job.

Mokuba got it quicker than anyone. The animosity between the two had evaporated in the 4 years that Joey had been in college. Truth be told, he thought his brother had missed the blonde in his own weird way. There weren’t a lot of people foolish (or smart) enough to challenge is brother once, let alone repeatedly. Yet the blonde was always that challenge; he was always ready to go.

Bringing him on as a QA made so much sense to Mokuba and he wasn’t disappointed. The blonde worked his way up quickly into their ranks of the best of the best. Best yet for the boy was when his brother was on a tirade and the blonde would step in front of his team and level the other with a look. Watching his brother’s face go from frustration to understanding in a half second was always a sight to see, and no one else had ever dared to challenge the brunette like that.

Mokuba had laughed the first time someone else had tried; they missed the point that only the blonde could speak to Seto that way. Joey kept Kaiba from firing the poor kid though.

It was a cold rainy Friday when Mokuba called Joey to his office with a look frighteningly like his brother’s on his face.

“Seto is driving me batty. He’s being a pain in my ass, and I need someone who can deal with him and his shitty-ness that he can’t just push around,” Mokuba ranted, pacing back and forth in his office without actually addressing Joey with why he was there.

“He has the emotional range of a teaspoon and has no idea how to interact with people. He doesn’t get why me, a strapping 18-year-old, might want to go out and have some fun!” Mokuba went on, finally looking up at the blond. “I’ve got a super huge favor to ask, and you can take off Monday if you do it.” Mokuba stated looking up at the blonde with big eyes that reminded Joey of his younger days. “Go drag big brother out of his office and keep him busy tonight. I don’t care if you two get shit faced and fuck up something, hell fuck up each other, but please, just get him out of my hair for tonight?” Mokuba pleaded, finally sitting down on his office couch.

Joey’s amber eyes looked over the other carefully.

“If he kills me tonight, you’re going to make sure Serenity is taken care of for life, right?” Joey asked deadly serious, Mokuba rolled his eyes.

“Of course, and you still can have Monday off, but he’s not stupid enough to kill you, he doesn’t kill employees.” Mokuba stated laughing, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Great, now give me an access card to his office, it’s 5:30, and I’m not letting him stick around all night if I need to drag him out anyway.” Joey stated, Mokuba looked at him and shrugged, going over and tapping some keys on his keyboard.

 

“You have full access now,” Mokuba said laughing to himself. “Don’t do anything too stupid though, he’s also been in a shitty mood all day.”

Joey waved away his comment and headed out the door laughing himself, head held high as he walked over to the elevator to go meet the dragon himself.

It took just over an hour for Joey to finally drag Kaiba out of his office. Quickly realizing the tell-tale signs of Mokuba’s scheme, he angrily texted his brother, who sent a smiley face back and refused to answer.

After they’d established that no Kaiba couldn’t pay off Joey, and no Joey wasn’t going away, and no they weren’t going out, but they’d get some takeout from wherever Kaiba wanted and head back to Kaiba’s apartment, well at least they had a plan.

It was a quiet journey in the limo. Joey didn’t chat his ear off, and Kaiba enjoyed the silence, wrapping up his day using his cell phone. The driver grabbed their dinner and dropped them off at Kaiba’s apartment. Joey declined a ride home for the evening, “I’ll call a cab.” Kaiba shrugged, and on the side texted his driver that he’d call him if it came to that.

They ate quietly, having some sushi and hard cider. Finally, as dinner wrapped up Kaiba spoke.

“Since when are you this quiet?” He asked, his tone less harsh than it had been all day.

“Seemed liked you could use some quiet, didn’t want to disturb the genius in there, figured I could do that once you relaxed a little bit.” Joey stated with a crooked smirk over to the other. Blue eyes narrowed at the amber ones.

“Great… here I was hoping for a quiet night. How exactly do you plan on doing this?” Kaiba asked. Joey laughed.

“No plan, but it was this, or this guy I went out with once wanted to hang out, and it was easier to say I had other plans, and actually have them, than to find some way out,” Joey laughed nervously. “Plus… hoping it drops a subtle hint I aint interested.” Joey stated looking away.

Kaiba laughed, a real, loud laugh, and just looked over at the blonde.

“You’re using me, as an excuse, to get out of a would-be date?” Kaiba asked with a smirk. Clearly amused as he took as sip of his rum and coke. “How bad is this guy that you’re willingly subjecting yourself to me instead of him?” Kaiba asked, considering this must be a good story.

“Man, you wouldn’t believe the half of it,” Joey said, having a sip of his rum and coke as well laughing before going on. “So, he’s this tall lithe red head. He’s got a great body, was army once. Figured he’d be a good time. We’re hanging out, and he’s got this huge crazy family and I was like – okay this I can handle – but then he got stoned. I do my best to avoid that shit unless with Tristan who keeps me from doing stupid shit, so I declined.

“Anyway, so he’s stoned, and starts yapping away about life. Finally circles back to his ex, who get this, is a straight up thug. Guy was in jail for working with the cartel, and prior to that on attempted murder.” At this Kaiba looked at him like he was crazy. “Oh it get’s better. Attempted murder of his half-cousin who thought she was his half sister and trying to get him sent off to jail. His real half sister and ex decided to try and ship her off, and almost killed her instead. No one knew the sister was involved apparently though.” Joey took a long drink of his rum and coke, polishing off the glass.

“Also, he only tops, so I wasn’t really into that sort of relationship. Best not to lead the poor guy on.” He said as he took a drink of his new glass, bringing over the rum and coke to refresh Kaiba’s drink.

“Wait so you bottom and top?” Kaiaba asked looking over at the blonde.

The blonde looked at him with jaw dropped. Completely stunned into silence. The brunette turned away, a delicate blush covering his skin as he processed the words he had just spoken.

“Uh… I mean… fuck, none of my business, I…” Kaiba started rambling, trying to recover.

“You are gay…” Joey stated softly looking the other over with clouded eyes.

Kaiba gave an almost non-existent nod of acknowledgement.

“Cool! Your secret is safe with me. While my friends wouldn’t give two shits, I get that its kind of a big deal, and an even bigger secret. Just don’t go all weird on me.” Joey stated as blue eyes silently found his.

“Anyway, yeah so psychotic ex, and he wasn’t exactly normal himself. Figured it was better to avoid that train wreck than get in the middle of it. I mean shit, I might not be better… but I like to try.” Joey stated laughing and finishing off looking at Kaiba.

“Okay awkward guy – have you had your first kiss?” Joey asked excited as a child. Kaiba glared at him.

“We are not having chick chat here Wheeler.” Kaiba stated firmly.

“You’re right as always genius, it’s not chick chat because we’re not chicks. It’s gay guy gossip, duh.” Joey laughed amused at his own wording. Kaiba tried to suppress his amusement but failed spectacularly himself.

“Who was your first kiss Wheeler?” He turned it back around on the other who gave an annoyed look back.

“Tristan.” He stated firmly. “Before he met Duke, we got stoned one night, and got to talking about sexuality somehow… one thing leads to another, and we made out some. However, no one, and I mean no one, is aware of this. We never discuss it, and it never went anywhere. We met Duke, who was an asshole to me, and Tristan was crushing on right away not too long after, so yeah. That’s on the list of do not discuss. Now spill Kaiba, who was your first kiss?”

**Author's Note:**

> After I wrote "The Climb" I myself wondered how they got there... so I guess I went back to the start! 
> 
> Comments/Constructive Criticisms welcome!


End file.
